Senate Passes Transportation Act

The Senate passed HR 2887, the Surface and Air Transportation Programs Extension Act of 2011, on September 15, 2011 by a vote of 92 – 6. The bill extends general funding for transportation programs until January 31, 2012, and selected programs until March 31, 2012 at present levels. The bill was introduced in the House on September 12, 2011, passed the House the following day by voice vote so that no House members would be on record as having increased spending, and sent to the Senate for ratification.

The six noe votes came from Republican Senators Coburn (OK), DeMint (SC), Johnson (WI), Lee (UT), Paul (KY), and Toomey (PA) on grounds that the spending should have been reduced, and that there was little or no time devoted to debating the measure.